$5.5M renovation underway at Zeeland Christian School

Tuesday

Aug 19, 2014 at 7:24 AMAug 19, 2014 at 7:24 AM

By Lisa.Ermak@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4219

Life is a little crazy at Zeeland Christian School this summer. And it will continue to be that way for the next 12 months.With a major construction project underway, the boys’ locker room has been converted into a classroom, the prayer room into the teachers’ lounge and a corner of the library is now home to a classroom.Almost every teacher and staff member has had to move their classroom or adjust to a new one.“Teachers have just had an amazing attitude,” Principal Bill Van Dyk said.The school shake-up is thanks to phase 1 of a $5.5 million “Stronger Together” project which was approved by the school board in June.The project includes building a 13-classroom middle school addition, two new project rooms for hands-on work, a secured main entry and a revamp of the parking lot and drop off areas on the east side of the building.The school was able to raise 80 percent of the project cost in gifts and pledges and attain 50 percent of the project cost in cash before board approval. The ZCS community raised more than $4.8 million in pledges and gifts toward the project. In July, GDK Construction & GMB Engineering + Architects, solicited bids from local contractors and began work.Today, the back of the school is wide open, with bulldozers driving by moving dirt around.The new space is a welcome addition to the growing school which serves students in preschool through eighth grade.Since 2004, overall enrollment at ZCS has gone from 879 students to more than 1,000 — a 14 percent increase, school spokeswoman Mandy Cooper said.Sara DeYoung, 13, has been a student at Zeeland Christian since preschool and will be entering eighth grade this fall. While she won’t be able to benefit from the new construction — which is set for completion in September 2015 — she’s excited for the future of the school.“I think it’s really cool to see different kinds of students come in. We’ve really been blessed with lots of students.”Van Dyk and his staff are just as excited.“Everybody’s been looking at this year as an adventure,” middle school lead and sixth grade teacher John Buteyn said.Van Dyk said the new 13-classroom addition will be a very creative, collaborative space with glass walls as doors. Classrooms will be also grouped around a commons area to facilitate project-based learning.“Flexible space is the most exciting thing about this,” Buteyn said. “It can be a dozen classrooms but it can also be three to four large areas.”Phase 2 construction could begin as early as summer 2015 if fundraising goals are met. The project would cost about $800,000 and include two new preschool classrooms and multi-purpose space for motor movement activities.Classes begin at ZCS on Tuesday, Aug. 26.— Follow this reporter on Twitter @SentinelLisa.